City of Canandaigua ponders crosswalk removals

In an effort to improve safety in downtown, Councilmember David Whitcomb said the city should eliminate two non-signalized crosswalks on Main Street.He will also encourage the purchase of flags to improve safety at the crosswalk at the Saltonstall intersection on South Main Street, near The Villager Restaurant a...

In an effort to improve safety in downtown, Councilmember David Whitcomb said the city should eliminate two non-signalized crosswalks on Main Street.

“I’ve been thinking about the crosswalk issue, and (fixing it) is something I feel we should accomplish this year,” Whitcomb said. “It’s a safety issue, but it’s also a traffic issue. The non-signalized crosswalks create a traffic flow problem ... (A change) would be beneficial to pedestrians and drivers.”

Whitcomb will present the proposal tonight during the city’s Planning Committee meeting at the Hurley Building. The crosswalks have been the scene of multiple crashes over the past couple years. Many of the accidents have involved a pedestrian at the crosswalk and a motorist either not seeing that person, or not seeing that a vehicle had stopped to let the pedestrian cross the street.

The suggested crosswalks to be removed include one on North Main Street near Johnson-Kennedy Funeral Home and one of the crosswalks in the center of the business district on the south part of the street, Whitcomb said.

He will also encourage the purchase of flags to improve safety at the crosswalk at the Saltonstall intersection on South Main Street, near The Villager Restaurant and Byrne Dairy. He added that the flags would be similar to a system used in Washington, D.C. while he lived there.

Specifically, Whitcomb wants to implement bright orange flags at the beginning of the crosswalks for pedestrians to use when they cross the street. The idea is to make the person more visible to motorists, and when the pedestrian is across the road, they would put the flag back at the other side of the street.

While the issue will be discussed by City Council this week, the process of actually eliminating the crosswalks — if that’s what the city decides to do — won’t be immediate. Main Street (Route 332) is owned by the state, so if the city decides to take action, they would have to pass a resolution encouraging the Department of Transportation to approve the proposed changes.

Implementing the flags would be a quicker process, Whitcomb said. He said that plan could be completed within the first few months, if the city decides to go that route.